MASH is a rock and roll of a film that touches on main
aspects of society that so many films can’t seem to address. A couple of rhetorical aspects that I saw in
the movie included ethnicity, sex, gender roles and good situational and slapstick
humor. All of these humorous topics pulled together in an army situation made
for an excellent film. Just for a historical background the movie used the mid
1900’s to set up that war was bad, but in war the only way to get through it is
to push on and smile. The main characters in this film did a wonderful job of
portraying a stereotypical army brat. This stereotype is built on the base that
all overseas men are sex deprived and always willing to make a joke out of
things.
One of the main ongoing aspects of the film was ethnicity.
This was portrayed in main characters and in many different ways. This film
highlighted both sides of the ethnic realm, whether you were receiving the criticism
or dishing it out. The main thing that the movie wanted to point out was that racism
is not always coming in a derogative manner but more out of abnormality. One of
the main characters Duke Forrest was caught mentioning bout having to deal with
Yankees but dealing with a Negro will be hard. This shows us that we was not
use to being around black people and was not mean towards them just unsure of
them. Later in the movie we notice that during the football game one of the African
American men gets called a Coon. So we see both ends of the spectrum.
Sex is a key factor in this movie and a lot of the jokes
played in this movie fall in this topic. One part was when the radio broadcast was
announcing the sexual game going on with “hot lips” and Major Burns we hear
right after that that one army man mention that it was probably the most uplifting
program he has ever heard. This is of course talking about the arousal of men physically.
Another we hear is about the dentist. They say he was the “most equipped
dentist.” If you take this literal you will think he is smart and has many resources
at is ready. But this was a mention to the down low compartment, if you know what
I mean. During the dentist death scene
did any else notice the picture perfect last supper shot? Food for thought.
Gender Roles play a huge role in this movie. We see that
women are an object that men use to cope with the horrible ratio. No matter the
situation the men are always willing to notice the women. For example during
the football game the coach was yelling but he would stop to notice the women
passes then start yelling again. Also during surgery we see that the men will
always be talking to the girl and not truly paying attention to the person that
is getting the operation.
Yes, racial attitudes are quite prevalent. The film cleans up the name "Spearchucker" by making the character a star javelin tosser, but it was still a very common slur of the time. The Last Supper scene is important, give that some thought also.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the reason many of the men are so focused on sex and women is to avoid thinking about their current situation. They are in the middle of a war zone with people dying around them every day, they use sex and humor as a distraction.
ReplyDeleteI think that your comment will make me watch the movie one more time. At least that part hat you refer as the perfect shot. I don't have too much patience to look at every single detail. Specially when the film does not relate at all to me, or does not have any meaningful subject for myself. However, I try to appreciate the art involved and the ideas and issues it deals with.
ReplyDeleteI guess I didn't quite catch all of the sexual innuendos in this movie. I think most of the jokes fall into this category because sex is arguably the most important thing in any humans life. Also I think that the film makers wanted to address and show sex in the military in a more "civilized" manner.
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